Now that the Cardinals won Game 5 to make it to the National League Championship Series, Game 1 will be on Friday night and the pitching matchup is a solid one, as Zack Greinke will get the ball for the Dodgers while Joe Kelly will start for the Cardinals.
Greinke is the second ace of the team behind Clayton Kershaw and while he has a Cy Young pedigree that outweighs the young career of Kelly, the matchup is likely to be closer than anyone thinks. Kelly had himself a great season after coming in to start for the team after injuries, as he ended up going 10-5 this season with a 2.69 ERA and over 70 strikeouts and he will be key for the team, as him and Michael Wacha are starting the first two games before Adam Wainwright gets his chance after starting Game 5.
Greinke will take the ball before Kershaw in Game 2 and while the Dodgers have the clear advantage, the Cards have a solid one two punch to go at them in Kelly and Wacha. Greinke went 15-4 with a 2.63 ERA and 148 strikeouts and now he will get back on the mound after pitching six innings and giving up two runs against the Braves.
ADVATAGE: Still goes to Dodgers, but Kelly should have a nice start Friday.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are in the National League Championship Series and now that the St. Louis Cardinals have defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NLDS, the team has their opponent for the next round and one player that won't be around to participate is outfielder Matt Kemp.
The Dodgers expect to throw Zack Greinke in Game 1 against the St. Louis Cardinals and before the series started, Kemp underwent surgery on his shoulder. According to ESPN.com, Kemp was left off the postseason roster for the team and this week he underwent shoulder surgery on his left shoulder to help clean out his joints and this comes after injured his ankle at the end of the season. Kemp was able to play on and off during the season and ended up missing over 50 games and now he will have to watch and celebrate from the sidelines as the Dodgers move on to the National League Championship Series.
The first game of the series will be on Friday, October 11 on TBS and that game will be in St. Louis since the team had home field advantage for the playoffs by having the best record in the NL. Clayton Kershaw pitched the Dodgers into the NLCS and he will likely start Game 2 for the team against the Cardinals and after that the team likely will start Hyun-Jin Ryu and they will have to match up against a tough Cardinals pitching staff.
The Cards defeated the Pirates in the NLDS after forcing Game 5 and they powered by with home runs from David Freese and Matt Adams. Adam Wainwright pitched a fantastic game and went the full nine to get the Cardinals back to the Championship Series again.
